Latest US COVID variant percentages: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2022-09-16/cdc-omicron-subvariant-ba-5-shows-slight-decline-while-ba-4-6-ba-2-75-increase . Let’s restate the conclusions based on this data. BA5 remains the dominant US variant, while BA4.6 has significantly increased from 3% to 10% of cases. BA2.75 has entered the mix at 1%. Thus, the only noticeable changes from July are the tripling of cases from BA4.6 and the entrance of BA2.75.
Boston pays $75 for back-to-school vaccinations: https://www.boston.gov/news/boston-public-health-commission-hosting-back-school-covid-19-vaccination-event . This event provides informed medical advice to concerned parents. Hopefully, it will raise the percentage of children vaccinated.
COVID cases increase in France: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-09-16/frances-health-body-warns-of-resurgence-of-covid-virus-in-the-country .
WSJ: Abortion and religion takes a new turn: https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-abortion-bans-face-religious-liberty-lawsuits-from-the-left-11663343259 .
Chrissy Teigen admits loss of first pregnancy was actually an abortion of an unviable pregnancy: https://people.com/parents/pregnant-chrissy-teigen-loss-baby-jack-actually-abortion/ . This adds a new dimension to the current abortion debate. These matters are among the most private a couple has. They should not be subject to government interference.
WSJ: FedEx will contract operations on volume decline: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fedex-says-preliminary-first-quarter-results-miss-expectations-as-macro-trends-worsen-11663275276 . Yet another recessionary sign appears.
WSJ: Can EY successfully spin off its consulting arm?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/eys-consulting-arm-could-struggle-to-compete-as-standalone-firm-11663320634 . The article mentions comparisons to the Arthur Andersen spinoff of Accenture. Accenture thrived while Arthur Anderson crashed and burned because of poor auditing practices. My sense here is that the EY split comes in a very different and less favorable environment for splits than 20 years ago. Business growth opportunities are currently limited, so a large brand expenditure is unlikely to pay dividends.
Conversely, the disruption of a split will cause EY clients to reassess their relationship in light of the disruption inherent in this move. Unless EY has a secret growth strategy for its consulting practice, this deal will have a difficult time doing anything other than losing value.
WSJ: Turmoil in Chinese economy continues: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-downturn-moderates-though-property-woes-linger-11663315888 . The property sector has a long way to go to find a stable bottom. More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-housing-market-is-still-on-life-support-11663329147 .
Putin still has no exit strategy for Ukraine: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-retreats-ukraine-what-will-putin-do-military-kremlin-rcna47514 . This article contains the ominous suggestion that if the Russian army is defeated in Ukraine, Putin cannot survive politically. That could keep more desperate measures in the war on the table. Meanwhile, Putin and his allies try to avoid a general mobilization: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-wagner-putin-chef-prisoners-recruitment-mercenaries-rcna48035 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-battered-army-has-no-quick-fix-in-ukraine-11663326261 . Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-russias-military-failure-means-for-putin-and-the-world-11663340346 . Also: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-exhumes-mass-grave-site-in-northeastern-city-retaken-from-russians-11663339330 .
WSJ: India voices concerns to Russia over Ukraine: https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-narendra-modi-voices-concern-over-ukraine-war-to-russias-vladimir-putin-11663347008 .
DOJ appeals Mar-a-Lago documents ruling to 11th Circuit: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-government-and-politics-819a312522858f638a70cd9a0770d4a4 . Keep in mind that while Orange Julius continues to insist that he has absolute authority to declassify documents, his lawyers have not made that argument in court. There is no known basis for OJ to keep classified documents in his possession. The 11th Circuit needs to step in, and quickly. We’ll see. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-likely-to-appeal-parts-of-judges-ruling-on-documents-seized-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-11663354445 .
DeMentis commits political malpractice: https://www.aol.com/news/republican-governor-florida-flies-migrants-171423700-144336240.html . As mentioned recently, the Florida governor appears hellbent on demonstrating he is a bigger jerk than Orange Julius. With his latest bizarre stunt, he’s arrived at his destination. DeMentis remains so singularly focused on winning the 2024 GOP Presidential nomination that he spent Florida taxpayer dollars to move migrants from Texas to Massachusetts. Huh?
GOP voters now view DeMentis as the likely successor to Orange Julius for the affections of the GOP base. Two problems seem to have escaped his grasp. First, he is running for captain of a sinking ship. The GOP base of MAGA-maniacs cannot on its own elect the next President – it couldn’t even elect the last one. Second, DeMentis needs to get by Charlie Crist to remain Florida governor, and he’s just handed Crist a gift basket of election and debate issues.
Besides the misuse of state funds, the misled persons include South American immigrants. The unexpected GOP penetration into Florida’s substantial Latinx community and the influx of South American immigrants fueled OJ’s win there. DeMentis just gave those folks a big reason to hate him.
WSJ: We try and fail to defend the GOP governors: https://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-sends-50-migrants-on-planes-to-marthas-vineyard-11663253106 . This is yet another counterfactual attempt by WSJ to write appealing stories for its misinformed readers. As the article mentions, affected border states have programs in place (with federal funding) to relocate migrants to their final destinations. There is no defense for DeMentis’ behavior. As Florida has no border with Mexico, DeMentis stuck his nose in for political purposes, period.
WSJ: The Senate is still a screwed-up idea: https://www.wsj.com/articles/james-madisons-critique-of-the-senate-still-holds-11663335204 . I agree with just about everything the professor says here, but he misses the point entirely. Why does the Senate base its membership on equal representation between the states? That answer is deadly obvious. The slave states had (mostly) smaller white populations than the free states. This deal split relatively equal power between the slave states and the free states, without directly saying so. That’s why it sits alone in Article V, as the one provision of the Constitution that cannot be changed by the normal amendment process.
That’s why the 1820 Missouri Compromise created the deal where a free state and a slave state were admitted in pairs: https://www.history.com/topics/abolitionist-movement/missouri-compromise . The Senate “preserves” the free-slave state balance, and the Senate, of course, can halt any and all legislation. The founders knew that Article V embedded slavery in the Constitution in a way that could lead to trouble, but Madison couldn’t say that out loud. It took the Civil War to rebalance the deal, but the problem of Article V remained, because you can’t amend it out.
So, professor, the awful compromises enshrined in the Constitution in order to keep the colonies united in the Revolutionary War plague us to this day. That’s what you should have said.
Background on fivethirtyeight: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FiveThirtyEight . As readers know, I’m a fan of Nate Silver and fivethirtyeight. This Wikipedia note gives the history of this organization. According to other sources, ESPN needed to shed 538, but there were no buyers willing to pay Disney’s price. So ownership was transferred within Disney to ABC News. Also, the flow of awards to 538 pretty much shut off after their famous Presidential election miss in 2016. Some believe polls as a group suppressed Democratic turnout, leading to OJ’s surprise victory.